My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Roy Halladay throws his latest complete game while Dom Brown seems to prove that the hype about him is real, as the Phils beat the D-backs, 7-1.

Roookie Dom Brown proves that he’s worth the hype as he gets two hits, knocks in two runs and score two runs, in his first big league game, while Roy Halladay dominates the D-backs as he throws a complete game, although losing the shut out on a rookie mistake by Brown in the ninth inning, as the Phils defeat the D-backs, 7-1.

The Phils took the lead in the second as, with a runner on second, and with nobody out, Dom Brown gets an RBI double, his first major league hit and RBI, knocking in Jayson Werth, who had earlier doubled, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, with runners on the corners as Brown went to third on Carlos Ruiz’s single, and with still nobody out, Wilson Valdez hits an RBI ground out, 6-3, scoring Brown, giving the Phils a 2-0 lead, while sending Ruiz, who had just singled, over to second base. The Phils added to their lead in the sixth as, with two men on base, and with nobody out, Ruiz hits a two-run double, scoring Werth, who had earlier singled, and then went to second on Brown’s single, and Brown, who had earlier singled, giving the Phils a 4-0 lead. The Phils made it 5-0 three batters later as, with a runner on third, as Ruiz moved up to third on a Valdez ground out, 6-3, for the inning’s first out, and with two men out, Placido Polanco hits an RBI single, scoring Ruiz. The Phils increased their lead in the seventh as, with two men on, and with one man out, Brown hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Raul Ibanez, who had earlier singled, and then had gone to third on Werth’s double, making it a 6-0 Phils’ lead, while sending Werth, who had just doubled, to third base. The Phils then made it 7-0 as, with a man on third, and now with two men out, Ruiz hits an RBI double, knocking in Werth. The D-backs finally scored in the ninth as, with a runner on base, and with two men out, Miguel Montero hits an RBI double on a ball that Brown tried to catch by diving for it, but missed, knocking in Kelly Johnson, who had earlier singled, making it a 7-1 Phils’ lead. But, that would become the final score as Phils starter Roy Hallady got Mark Reynolds to fly out to left for the final out.

Roy Halladay gets the win as he pitches a complete game, giving up just one run on six hits, while he struck out nine. His record is now 12-8 with a 2.21 ERA. Edwin Jackson took the lost as he pitches five innings plus three batters, giving up five runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out three. His record is now 6-10 with a 5.16 ERA. Sam Demel pitches two innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk, while striking out two. Juan Gutierrez pitches a scoreless inning, giving up a walk, while striking out one.

The Phils had twelve hits in the game, with Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz leading the team with three hits each. Werth’s hits were a single, and two doubles, scoring three runs, while Ruiz’s three hits were also a single and two doubles, knocking in three runs. Raul Ibanez and Rookie Dom Brown followed with two hits each, with both Ibanez and Brown’s hits being a single and a double, with Brown knocking in two runs, one on a sac fly. Placido Polanco and Roy Halladay had the other two Phils’ hits, both singles, with Polanco knocking in a run. Wilson Valdez knocked in the other Phil run on a ground out. The offense crushed the D-backs, while Rookie Dom Brown shows that he is as good as advertised.

The Phils (55-46, 2nd NL East) will conclude their series and their home stand with a night game against the D-backs (37-64, 5th NL West). The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Kyle Kendrick (6-4, 4.60), who is coming off a win against the Rockies on July 24, where he had pitched seven strong innings, giving up just a run on six hits and a walk, while striking out three, in the Phils’ 10-2 rout. In his last three starts, his record is 1-1 with a no-decision, as he had pitched eighteen and two-thirds innings, giving up nine runs on sixteen hits and four walks, while striking out nine. He will be trying to prove that he should not have been demoted after his disaster outing against the Cardinals. The D-backs will try to counter with Joe Saunders (0-0, -.-), who the D-backs have just acquired in a trade with the Angles. In his last start for the Angles, he lost to the Rangers on July 23, as he pitched seven innings, giving up a run on seven hits and a walk, while striking out six, in the Angels’ 1-0 lost. In his last three starts as an Angel, his record is 0-2 with a no-decision, as he went eighteen and two-thirds innings, giving up eleven runs, ten of which were earned, on twenty-seven hits and two walks, while striking out twelve. He will be trying to prove that he was worth the trade. The Phils will be going for the series sweep, trying to extend their present winning streak to eight games, and their winning streak at home to eleven, while they wait to hear whether or not Roy Oswalt has decided to enforce his no-trade clause.

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